From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Later this year, Ballard cyclists could find themselves parking their bikes between two toes of a giant concrete foot.
Or maybe inside the rusted husk of a car sculpture, meant to symbolize the decay of the automobile and fossil fuel age.
In a first for Seattle, Sustainable Ballard asked residents to dream up bike racks with more aesthetic appeal than standard ones installed by the city. While functional, the metal rail rack is about as interesting as prison bars.
“People don’t notice them. They just blend in with the sidewalks,” said Craig Benjamin, who helped oversee the design contest. “We thought, let’s not just get more bike racks, let’s get cool and creative bike racks.”
The contest has multiple goals – to promote bicycling, build community, reduce greenhouse gases and beautify the neighborhood.
Along Ballard’s sidewalks, you already find bikes chained to virtually anything: fences, lampposts, signs, trees. Sometimes they’re just upside-down between outdoor cafe tables.
With rising gas prices, more people have turned to cycling. Lately, the several hundred new bike racks the city installs each year haven’t kept up with demand in some areas.
“It’s a chicken-and-egg thing where if there’s not infrastructure there, people may not choose to ride,” Benjamin said.
After poring over more than 100 entries, including dozens from art and engineering students at local schools, judges announced the winning designs and several alternates Sunday.
Read the article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Read more about Sustainable Ballard’s bike rack design contest
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Contest picks best designs for Ballard bike racks :: Rolling Resistance…
Later this year, Ballard cyclists could find themselves parking their bikes between two toes of a giant concrete foot.
Or maybe inside the rusted husk of a car sculpture, meant to symbolize the decay of the automobile and fossil fuel age….